The World Council of Churches morning prayer on 22 April was focused on Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, solemnly marking the 11th anniversary of the abduction of archbishops of Aleppo.
During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.
Marking 10 years since the kidnapping of archbishops of Aleppo Paul Yazigi and John Ibrahim, the Middle East Council of Churches held an “Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented” on 24 April.
Sanctions should not harm the support for the most vulnerable, says a report on the impact of sanctions on humanitarian work presented at a side-event of 52nd session at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva on 10 March.
Following the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake on 6 February, the presidents of the Middle East Council of Churches held an emergency meeting to discuss the disaster and how to respond.
In a congratulatory letter, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed great joy and gratitude over the appointment of Archbishop Mor Anthimos Jack Yakoub as the patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem, Jordan, and the Holy Land by His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II.
H.E. Mor Boutros Kassis, who has been serving the community for the last seven years as a temporary bishop, was installed as archbishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo on 15 October.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca visited Syria, alongside the Middle East Council of Churches secretary general Dr Michel Abs, the general secretary of ACT Alliance Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, and WCC senior advisor on peace building Michel Nseir.
قام القس البروفسور الدكتور/ ايوان سوكا، الامين العام لمجلس الكنائس العالمي بالإنابة بزيارة لسوريا برفقة سكرتير عام مجلس كنائس الشرق الاوسط الدكتور/ ميشال عبس والامين العام لتحالف "كنائس للعمل معاً" رودليمار بوينو دى فاريا والمستشار الاقدم لمجلس الكنائس العالمي لبناء السلام ميشال نصير.
In a joint letter to President Joe Biden, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance urged that he find ways in which the intended purposes of sanctions can be pursued without harm being inflicted on ordinary Syrians.
As Patriarch John X headed the Divine Liturgy at the Holy Cross church in Damascus in Syria, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared a message on behalf of a WCC-led delegation visiting the country for the first time since 2008.
On the International Day of Living Together in Peace declared by the United Nations, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship from countries troubled by war and conflict gathered to pray for sustainable peace in the world.
As the ninth anniversary of the abduction of the archbishops of Aleppo approaches, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca invited prayer for the safe return of the two religious leaders, as well as others missing amid conflicts and crises.
في 5 نيسان/ أبريل، اجتمع ممثلو قيادة مجلس الكنائس العالمي وموظفيه مع ممثلين من الكنائس الأعضاء في سوريا الذين قدموا إلى المعهد المسكوني في بوسي للتشاور بشأن عمل مجلس الكنائس العالمي البرنامجي الطويل الأمد المتعلق بسوريا. وكان الأمين العام بالنيابة لمجلس الكنائس العالمي القس البروفيسور الدكتور يوان سوكا هو الداعي لعقد هذا الاجتماع. .
On 5 April, World Council of Churches (WCC) leadership and staff met with representatives of WCC member churches from Syria, who came to the Bossey Ecumenical Institute for consultations on the WCC’s longstanding programmatic work relating to Syria. WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, was the convener of the meeting.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reiterated calls for the release of two Syrian archbishops, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Paul Yazigi, who were kidnapped near Aleppo, Syria in April 2013.
The Middle East Council of Churches, based in Beirut, Lebanon, has been the convener for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022 drafting group. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican have now published the material in several languages.
In a letter to the UN Security Council, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed grave concern over the impending expiry on 10 July of the resolution allowing cross-border humanitarian assistance to North West Syria.
The Middle East Council of Churches issued a statement related to the case and fate of two Archbishops, Boulos Yaziji and Mor Gregorius Youhanna Ibrahim, who were kidnapped on 22 April 2013.
At the end of the second week of Advent, WCC staff gathered in the Chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva for a special midday prayer for peace in Syria and the Middle East led by Father Jack (Yaqoub) Mourad, head of the Syriac Catholic Monastery of Saint Elian in al-Qaryatayn.